One.Org Report; An EU Budget that Invests in Potential

An EU Budget that Invests in Potential charts the potential results that EU aid could deliver at a time when Sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than half of the world’s extreme poor.

As the world’s largest aid donor, the EU needs to lead the way and get closer to ending extreme poverty by 2030. But for this to happen, the EU needs to be on track to meet the commitment to allocate 0.7% of national income to development assistance, which would create a total of € 140 billion available for development aid in the next seven-year EU budget.

ONE’s analysis shows that if half of an EU aid budget of €140bn was spent in the least developed countries and fragile states in Africa, it could deliver

Access to pre-primary, primary, and lower-secondary education to 32.5 million children per year

Access to basic health care and nutrition for 43.5 million people per year

A social safety net that could support 50.3 million people per year

The next EU long-term budget will take us to just three years before the 2030 deadline to end extreme poverty. Where the money is spent and what is spent on are of crucial importance; an ambitious aid budget would enable the EU to have a dramatic impact in the lives of many and to set the path for new alliances with our closest neighbor Africa. Africa’s population is set to more than double by 2050, with half of the population younger than 25. Investing in the future of Africa’s youth today will enable this dynamic population to drive growth and innovation that will shape the future of both Africa and Europe.